Heroin recovered from sewer

South Yorkshire Police’s Tasking Team, which only operate within Rotherham to carry out raids, executed a warrant at the Dinnington property on Monday (10).

Det Sgt Jamie Henderson, who heads up the Tasking Team, acted swiftly after entering the property and seeing the suspect flushing a package down a toilet.

The team moved into the garden of the property and removed the manhole cover to the sewerage system, which revealed that the package was currently stuck within the pipe.

Officers lowered Det Sgt Jamie Henderson down, head first, into the sewer where he successfully recovered the package by hand.

Det Sgt Henderson said: “In over 10 years with South Yorkshire Police, this is the first time that I have found myself being lowered head first into a sewer.

“This was a successful conclusion of an operation to recover drugs and arrest a man on suspicion of supplying drugs to others.”

The package contained 1oz of heroin with a street value of £1,000.

A 37-year-old man from the area was arrested on possession with intent to supply and later released on police bail.

Shaun Wright, South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner accompanied the Tasking Team on the drug raid in Dinnington to see an operation first-hand.

Mr Wright said: “This will be one operation I will not forget in a hurry.

“My purpose of visiting the Tasking Team was to spend time with the officers and observe them at work.

“I did not expect to see an officer being lowered head first into a sewer.

“It really does demonstrate the lengths our officers will go to in serving the public.

“Well done to all of the officers on the operation, it was a good result and all that more interesting with the remarkable way that detective sergeant Henderson acted in recovering the package from the sewer.”